The Yankees have one of the most formidable rotations in the postseason bracket.
Gerrit Cole is the likely Game 1 starter after Cam Schlittler and Max Fried finished off the Red Sox in two games.
Carlos Rodon is an option for Game 2, or Aaron Boone can come back with the Schlittler-Fried combination in Games 2 and 3.
The rotation is loaded with postseason experience. The least experienced member of the quartet, Schlittler, has quickly turned into one of the best postseason pitchers over the last few years.
At minimum, the Yankees take away the pitching advantage the Rays in most matchups this season. Drew Rasmussen, Freddy Peralta, Griffin Jax and others will be countered by an All-Star pitcher on the other end.
The Yankees just held the Red Sox to two runs over 18 innings in the wild-card round.
They may concede a few more runs over five games against the Rays, but there’s a chance they hold Tampa Bay under three runs in most of the contests because of how strong they are on the front end of the pitching staff.